Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.10.2005, Page 10

Gaukur Á StönG >>> tender
Moments <<< Whether an audi-
ence of ten stiff people is a good
outcome for a band playing on
the very first evening of a festival
remains unsure. What is certain is
that Tóti, the singer of Dogdaze,
took up the audience’s vibe by
keeping his torso in an angle of
90 degrees (to the floor) through-
out the entire set, which, together
with paraphernalia like baseball
caps and Deftones shirts, was
true to their heroes, Bad Religion.
¶ nilfisk took the audience so
much by surprise that, unfortu-
nately, no one dared to move, as
would have been suitable for such
a perfectly delivered set of dance-
able garage rock. The shock that
came with this sudden rise in
quality was just too unexpected.
¶ Though their punk rock did not
necessarily sound as if they had
won the Battle of the Bands, Bú-
drýgindi’s singer Maggi definitely
looked like it. This kid was preten-
tious as hell, and he put on an in-
credible performance, from com-
ments like “everyone in Iceland
knows this song” to hurling the
mic through the air and, finally,
jumping over the banister to
scream into people’s faces.¶
When Dimma finally came on,
there was bass that you could
feel. A band that rocked hard and
sported haircuts so hopelessly
old-school I racked my brain try-
ing to figure out who could have
created them. Though a ballad
(starting with the words “I touch
myself...”) proved the singer,
Hjalti, had a voice, this was their
only tender moment, with the rest
of the set being delivered with
such fierceness it was almost
cute. JulIkA HueTHeR ¶ ¶ >>>
Floored <<< Dikta played a six-
song set of melodic guitar rock to
a crowded house. Intent on mix-
ing up different influences, with
an opening song driven by a funk-
inspired bass line, followed by a
mellow piano song, they seemed
to aspire to do something more
than run-of-the-mill pop-rock.
And at times they actually deliv-
ered, especially on a rocking
fourth song, which met the
crowd’s approval. ¶ As soon as
Dikta ended their set, I Adapt
started banging the drums – on
the opposite end of the room.
These veterans of hardcore punk
set up across from the main stage,
actually flooring it, with no regard
for the elaborate stage set up and
lighting. Suddenly, what earlier
seemed to be a relatively safe dis-
tance by the bar in the back of the
room became the centre of the
mosh pit. ¶ The I adapt set imme-
diately launched into a nine-song
set featuring three new songs.
Between songs, I adapt singer
Birkir joked with the crowd, giving
his recommendations for Air-
waves (kimono and Future Future)
and getting a message across
about the gender wage inequality
and the upcoming women’s day
off. ¶ The crowd was truly en-
gaged. The main bar, which I stood
alongside, hardly sold beer during
their set, and people in the back
were climbing onto tables for a
better view of the floor. Mínus’s
singer krummi told me: “I adapt is
the best hardcore band Iceland
has ever produced – fast and dan-
gerous.” ¶ It’s in nobody’s favour
to follow a performance like I
adapt’s, but Days of Our Lives man-
aged admirably. With much of the
crowd gone, they went through a
six-song set of promising materi-
al, which nicely blended powerful
guitar riffs with melodic song
lines. They ended their set some-
what abruptly, but returned for
an encore after receiving warm
applause. SveInn BIRkIR
BJöRnSSon ¶ ¶ GranD rOkk
>>> the West-woman Blues <<<
last year, three young women
from the Westman Islands decid-
ed they would become a band and
perform at Airwaves. This year,
the group, now named Vagínas,
opened a night of eclectic music
at Grand Rokk. The first half of
the set contained unremarkable
and underplayed rock. The three
founding members of Vagínas are
more a classic folk-style vocal
group than a rock band, and it
was only when they eased off on
the guitars that they began to
turn heads. More impressive still
was a slow number that Hafdís
began crooning in a slow, smoky,
bluesroom voice that belied her
age. BART CAMeRon ¶ ¶ >>>
Stealing the Hemm Hemm Spot-
light <<< Judging from the line
snaking out the door two hours
before their scheduled show time,
it was clear that the first night of
Iceland Airwaves belonged to lo-
cal big band troubadour Benni
Hemm Hemm. Too bad Vax and Ja-
kobínarína had to swoop in and hi-
jack the evening. ¶ not that
Hemm Hemm and his merry band
didn’t deliver what the overflow-
ing masses wanted. They just
happened to run up against two
groups that took advantage of
the hype to deliver “I saw them
when…” performances. ¶ After
opening sets by Vagínas, Benny
Crespo’s Gang, and the Foghorns
(who delivered the line of the
night: “This is a bad place to be
sober”), Vax set a properly epic
tone for the evening. With their
burly bear of a front man growl-
ing about confessing sins, demons
in disguise, and getting high,
things quickly escalated into the
ethereal realm of a scalding Sun-
day morning church service. By
the time villi – tie loosened, collar
splayed, sweat running down his
face – threw himself into Devil
That Woman, vax had offered the
first clue that there was some-
thing special going on here. ¶
Benni Hemm Hemm followed, tak-
ing the stage with a sea of camera
phones and video recorders
poised to capture something
magical. And they almost got it.
Taking a shambling cacophony of
noise and cobbling it into a trium-
phant opening blast of brass and
crashing cymbals, Hemm Hemm’s
ten-piece army announced their
arrival with authority. ¶ But with
Benedikt Hermannsson’s baritone
vocals buried low in the mix,
things never quite exploded the
way that maybe they were ex-
pected to. Some members of the
audience even started clinking
their glasses together and shush-
ing each other in an attempt to
actually hear him sing. The band
answered by lifting Hermanns-
son’s sombre singing with a sil-
very blast of steel guitar, which
led them into the finale: A sweet
explosion of “la la las”, tinkling
xylophones, and orchestral fire-
works. >>> the crowd – sweaty,
stinky, and exhausted – could
finally exhale. Or so they
thought. <<< Because by the time
Jakobínarína – a baby-faced gang
of 15-to-17 year olds – took the
stage, what was previously a con-
cert quickly morphed into a fren-
zied dance party. Shirts were
shed, booties were shaken, even a
member of Sigur rós started push-
ing his way to the front of the
stage. As did a few conspicuous
representatives from American
record labels. And why not? With
their lead singer, Gunnar, bopping
and preening around the stage
like some pimply John lydon, Ja-
kobínarína kicked and screamed
their way through a set that owed
more to the syncopated snarl of
WEDNESDAY
NIGHT LIVE
REVIEWS
Suddenly, what earlier seemed to
be a relatively safe distance by the
bar in the back of the room be-
came the centre of the mosh pit.
I ADAPT GAUKUR Á STÖNG
Nilfisk took the audience so much
by surprise that, unfortunately,
no one dared to move.
NILFISK GAUKUR Á STÖNG
I ADAPT PHOTO BY RÓBERT
{ 12 }Grapevine Airwaves 2005 Friday October 21 – Issue 1 of 3